Social News 3/4 HCM City to relocate 16 trees to build metro station The HCMC Department of Transport confirmed on March 31 that 16 trees on Ton Duc Thang Street in the downtown area will be relocated instead of being felled to make room for building a station of Metro Line No.1 now under construction. Tran Quang Lam, deputy director of the department, said the trees will be replanted at Gia Dinh Park and Go Vap Cultural Park next month. The specific plan for the tree relocation will be announced in the coming time. Earlier, the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) unveiled a plan to chop down a dozen trees and relocate four of the 16 trees on the street to make room for the construction of Ba Son Station of the city’s first metro track stretching 19.7 kilometers from Ben Thanh Market in downtown HCMC to Suoi Tien Park in District 9. The department calculated it costs VND3-5 million to chop down each of the trees and VND5-20 million each to relocate and replant the trees. Lam said the department is working on plans to deal with the remaining trees on the street. The Thu Thiem 2 bridge project also affects the greenery in the city. Earlier, the city planned to cut down and relocate many big trees due to the bridge, which is currently under construction. Fish exporter arrested for loan fraud Police in Can Tho city announced that they co-operated with the Ministry of Public Security's economic police unit in the investigation and arrest of a director of a fisheries company in a VND700bn (USD31.8m) fraud case. Phan Ba Tong, director of Thien Ma Seafood Company, and Tran Thi Diem, his head accountant, were arrested on March 31. Tong’s house on Tran Phu Street and his office at Tra Noc Industrial Zone were searched. Thien Ma Seafood Company was established in 2005 with VND70bn in charter capital to export mostly catfish and basa fish. The company quickly expanded operations and climbed to the top of Mekong Delta fishing industry. Tong had loans at various banks in Can Tho City and wider Mekong Delta region. In 2011, the company owed the banks over VND430bn and VND50bn to other lenders. All three factories had to halt operations. In 2012, Tong said his company was facing loses and owed the banks over VND600bn. It's unclear how he got approval for so many loans and it is suspected the company accounts were altered. In 2014, his prized Hummer H2 was seized and sold to cover VND4bn of a VND10bn loan that Toan had taken with one local bank, but ample bad debts remain. First Book Festival held in Hue The organization board of the first book festival in Hue said it will give 20 percent of total revenue from the festival to charity fund. Yesterday, the Information & Culture Center in the central province of Thua Thien Hue opened book festival, aiming to respond to Vietnam Book Day (April 21). Over 10,000 books are displaying at the festival. Many books cost only VND 1,000 to 10,000. The organization board said the festival is also to encourage reading habits to people and help disadvantage students to have chance to buy books. The festival lasts to April 3. HCMC cherry blossom festival to open in April The Ho Chi Minh City cherry blossom festival 2016 will open in the September 3rd Park in District 1 on April 22-23. A variety of cultural and arts exchanges between Vietnam and Japan will be held during the event, such as travel expo presenting destinations, tourism products and services of the two countries, food fair,  seminar on promotion cooperation and tourism development investment, art perfromance and more. The event is part of cultural exchange activities celebratin  the 43th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan. Water festival prompts controversy In Thailand, the cradle of a water festival known as Songkran, authorities have asked Thai people to scale down this year’s festival as drought is taking a heavy toll on the communities living along the Mekong River. In Vietnam, farmers in the Mekong Delta are struggling with drought and salinity intrusion. However, youths in HCMC are eagerly gearing up for a big water festival. “Every year, thousands of people from around the world and especially Southeast Asia flock to Thailand for Songkran festival. This year is not an exception as Bangkok will be hosting the event. For those who cannot make it to the Thai capital, Saigon Outcast is here to solve your problem. We are planning to hold the biggest Songkran festival ever in Saigon. Following the great success of last year’s Songkran festival in the city, Saigon Outcast will throw the water party on April 16.” “Saigon Outcast’s water festival last year was really a hit, with nearly 10,000 people showing interest. We were thrilled by such huge support. But unfortunately, we were allowed to organize a festival for 1,000 people only. This year, Saigon Outcast will hold the event on a larger scale for 5,000 participants at another venue in Saigon.” This is what has been posted on the Facebook entertainment pages and the websites for youths to advertise the Vietnamese version of Songkran, which is expected to take place from noon to 22 p.m. on April 16 at the Youth Cultural House, 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1. Saigon Outcast is a team that manages an outdoor creative space in District 2 where festivals and exchange events for young people are usually organized. Tickets for the water festival in HCMC, which is called “Get Wet: Songkran Water and Music Festival”, are now available on ticketbox.vn at VND130,000 (US$5.82) per ticket for early birds, VND260,000 for general admission and VND360,000 per ticket at the door. Songkran is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day. Thai people believe throwing water at other people would help wash away bad luck in the old year and bring good luck in the new year. This year, Thai people will have a longer Songkran festival which lasts from April 12 to 17 as the event falls on the weekend. Due to the current water crisis in Thailand and the region, Bangkok has told residents to throw water in only three days between April 12 and 14 and stop all water throwing activities before 9 p.m. The volume of water use throughout Songkran in Thailand is normally three times higher than on normal days and the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports has called on cities nationwide to limit the use of water during the event. On the contrary, young people in HCMC are eager to make it big, especially at a time when 11 southern provinces are feeling the pinch of drought and saltwater intrusion and when people are spending up to VND150,000 buying a cubic meter of clean water compared to the normal price of several thousand dong. Young people who are behind the water festival in HCMC and those planning to join it should look at those areas suffering from drought and salt intrusion before they move on with the water festival plan. Authorities that have given permission to the organizing of the water festival in HCMC should give a second thought. Iron bridge collapses in Đắk Lắk A 60m-long iron bridge collapsed early on Friday in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk’s Xuân Phú Commune, injuring three people. The cause of the accident was thought to be an overloaded van, containing sand, running along the degraded bridge, crossing Krông Năng River, according to the local police’s initial investigation.     The van’s driver, his companion and a 13-year-old girl riding on an electrical-engine bicycle all fell into the river.        At the scene in Xuân Phú Commune of Ea Kar District, local police announced that the bridge had split in two, the truck was upside down in the river and only the girl had been taken to the health centre. The other two victims suffered only minor injuries. The collapsed bridge obstructed traffic until 3.30pm Friday. The van driver, Nguyễn Thành Luân, 32, was a local man, who told police he had been hired to carry sand from Krông Pắk District to Xuân Phú Commune. Luân and his companion were held in custody at the communal police station for further investigation. The district’s police force will also join the investigation. Japanese project improves Can Tho University’s research capacity The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) launched a project to develop the research capacity of Can Tho University in agriculture, seafood and environment, during a workshop held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 1. Through JICA, the Japanese Government provided a loan of 100 million USD – which will be used at the end of 2016, and another 4 million USD for technical cooperation starting from March 2016 and ending in 2020. Chief Representative of JICA Office in Vietnam Yasuo Fujita said supporting Can Tho University is one of the most important activities of JICA in the Mekong Delta, which supplies 50 percent of rice, 65 percent of seafood, and 70 percent of vegetables and fruit for Vietnam , contributing 25 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The project will help the university enhance its research capacity in agriculture, aquatic breeding and environment, thus increasing the value of farm produce and protecting the environment in the Mekong Delta, he added. JICA will support the university in developing human resources and building academic research facilities as well as provide financial support for joint research between it and Japanese universities and companies, he said. Rector of Can Tho University Ha Thanh Toan said his university aims to develop into a research campus. It is currently conducting 382 scientific research projects at all levels. He added that the active financial and technical support of JICA and the Japanese Government will help Can Tho University enhance its capabilities in research and technological transfer, and open new cooperation opportunities with Japanese partners. Established in 1966, Can Tho University has become a key educational institution in the region. Its goal is to become one of the leading universities in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region in research and training by 2020.- Hanoi hastens transport construction to reduce traffic jams The People’s Committee of Hanoi on April 1 urged municipal departments, sectors and relevant offices to speed up construction on key transport projects and put them into operation in 2016, to reduce traffic congestion in the capital. The key projects are six flyovers, a viaduct, and a section on belt road 3 between Mai Dich and Thang Long bridge. Regarding the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro railway section, the People’s Committees of Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hoan Kiem districts were asked to coordinate with the municipal Department of Transport and contractors to hasten the approval of compensation and assistance for resettlement. Amidst concern about traffic safety, contractors were requested to ensure they install warning signs at construction sites. Figures from the city show that about 20,000 motorbikes and 8,000 cars are registered every month. On average, nearly 1,000 new cars and motorbikes are added to the traffic every day. It is estimated the city will have about one million cars and seven million motorbikes by 2020. The rapid increase of individual vehicles is putting huge pressure on the capital’s transport infrastructure. Children with autism face difficulties over legal loophole Vietnam has yet to incorporate autism into its disability law, thus autistic children have received little support from the Government, Nguyen Trong An, Deputy Director of the Research and Training Centre for Community Development, told the Vietnam News Agency. According to him, in the last two years, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has worked to address the loophole by accelerating a procedure attesting autism as a disability. Preparations, including providing guidance materials on autism and training personnel, are underway. Meanwhile, the relaxation of state management concerning medical care and education provided for the autistic community has led to some pressing issues. For instance, many educational centres and health clinics were established defrauding people with a false hope that they can cure their loved ones who suffer from autism. As a result, many families were overcharged for medical or tuition fees, and even worse, some autistic children were abused. An noted that in Vietnam, parents have been overloaded with information around autism – a mental problem that causes people to be unable to communicate properly or to form relationships with others. Thus, a child who learns to speak less quickly than its peers, or is hyperactive, can easily become incorrectly suspected of having autism, he said, adding that in fact, the incidence of autism is one in many thousands of children. He said no official research on autistic people has been published in Vietnam, but health experts estimated in 2013 that there were between 160,000 and 200,000 children with autism living across the country. An stressed the need for real action to protect this vulnerable group, particularly by relevant agencies, which he said should learn from international experience on the issue and make support policy available to these children soon. “Early diagnosis of autism results in a better chance for autistic children to live a normal life and integrate into society” is the message worth spreading, he said, concerning the role of the media. According to him, the most important factor in helping autistic children improve lies in their families, especially the parents. Hanoi puts maximum effort into Zika prevention Hanoi’s Health Department held a meeting on March 31 to mobilise all available resources as precautions for a Zika outbreak, after the Ministry of Health raised the Zika virus emergency level to 2. Head of the department Nguyen Khac Hien said alarm bells are ringing, as approximately 8,000 foreigners entering the capital city through Noi Bai Airport on a daily basis. According to him, 62 local general hospitals are tasked with keeping a close watch on their patients, and communities across the city must monitor residents returning from overseas – especially Zika-hit countries. The city is operating 65 mobile disease-prevention teams and stockpiling a large amount of relevant chemicals and medical equipment. A promotion campaign will be carried out at border checkpoints so visitors know where to go if they have any symptoms of Zika. Locals are advised to protect themselves and their families using mosquito repellent, and securely cover all containers of water to prevent mosquitoes from entering them and laying eggs. Currently, Hanoi has no cases of Zika virus. Six suspected dengue-fever samples were tested, producing negative results. According to the WHO, 59 countries and territories have recorded Zika cases. Some foreigners, after leaving several Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, were also reported to have tested positive for Zika. Zika is mainly transmitted through the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which also carries dengue fever. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and, in the vast majority of cases, brain damage. Currently there is no vaccine or specific medicine to treat the disease.- Dien Bien: Traditional festival held in memory of peasant hero The Ban Phu Citadel Festival was opened in Noong Het commune, in the northern province of Dien Bien, on April 1 to pay homage to Hoang Cong Chat, who restored peace to the mountainous region nearly 300 years ago. In around 1740, the Phe invaders from China came to occupy the Muong Thanh area of Dien Bien and spread to Thuan Chau, an area which is now in nearby Son La province. Hoang Cong Chat led his troops to the occupied regions in 1751 and coordinated with Lo Ngai and Lo Khanh, who were local peoples. They defeated the Phe invaders three years later. In 1758, Chat’s troops began building Ban Phu Citadel and finished the construction in 1762. They based themselves in the citadel and protected a vast area in the northwest of Vietnam. The Ban Phu Citadel Festival is organised on the 24th day of the second lunar month – the death anniversary of Hoang Cong Chat, which falls on April 1 this year. Visitors to the two-day event can witness traditional rituals such as a palanquin procession and the worship of Hoang Cong Chat, and join in folk games like tug-of-war, throwing “con” (sacred balls) through a ring, and pushing canes. Twenty-five amateur arts troupes across Dien Bien will also bring to the festival performances deeply imbued with their ethnic groups’ identities. On March 31, a certificate was presented to recognise the Ban Phu Citadel Festival (or Hoang Cong Chat Temple Festival) as part of the national intangible cultural heritage. The same heritage status was also given to the ancient “xoe” dancing of the Thai ethnic group in Dien Bien. Number of health insurance holders surges over new hospital fees An addition of 500,000 people took out health insurance across Vietnam in the first two months of 2016, according to statistics of the Vietnam Social Security Agency. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, 130,000 people registered for health insurance in January and February, soaring 13-fold from the equivalent period last year. The wave was fuelled by a new policy on March 1 that raised hospital fees by between 30 and 50 percent, said Tran Dinh Lieu of the Vietnam Social Security. Pham Luong Son, Head of the Health Insurance Policy Board under Vietnam Social Security , said health insurance spending is expected to expand by 50 percent this year in line with increasing hospital fees. The revised Health Insurance Law stipulates that as from January 1, 2016, people with health insurance cards at district level can access checkups or treatments at any district-level health facility they want within their province, without requiring referral papers as before. They will also get full insurance cover for hospital expenses. The cardholders will benefit greatly from the amended law, Son said, pointing to their guaranteed treatment at any district-level medical unit located outside their residing area, without the need of referral papers. The law also allows patients to choose among these facilities for the best option that offers superior services, he noted. Son said that the new conditions also require improved management. For example, the current database systems have yet to be able to monitor a patient that uses medical services at different facilities within a day or week, which may lead to the misuse of the health insurance fund. Statistics from Vietnam Social Security recorded no significant rise in the number of patients with health insurance for district-level hospitals in the last two months, as the new law took effect in conjunction with the lunar New Year holiday. However, a boom in the number of health insurance subscribers is forecast in the near future. Locals join hands to fight against saline intrusion In their fight against drought and saline intrusion, farmers in Tiểu Cần District of the southern Trà Vinh Province have contributed their own money to build canals and ditches. Each household in the Trung Tiến Hamlet of Tân Hùng Commune contributes about VNĐ70,000 (US$3) per every 1,000sq.m in order to hire people to pump water. The water is pumped from a big river named Cần Chông to canals and ditches in the interior field. From there, the farmers pump water to their own paddy fields, said Trương Văn Giảng, head of Trung Tiến Hamlet. “Up to 30ha of rice in the hamlet have been saved,” he said. Other communes in the region, such as Tạp Ngãi, Ngãi Hùng and Tân Hòa, also apply the model.  “About 1,669ha out of the 2,369ha of rice in Tiểu Cần District that are at risk of being hit by saline intrusion have been saved,” Trần Văn Quân, deputy head of the district’s agriculture department, said while talking about the model’s efficiency. In addition to farmers’ initiatives, the local agriculture sector has spent billions of đồng on dredging canals and ditches. The sector has also sent officers to check the salt levels of fields and assess the destruction caused by saline intrusion in order to provide adequate assistance in the future, he said. So far, a total of 11 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Highland regions, including Trà Vinh Province, have announced a state of emergency due to the drought and saline intrusion. More than 11,000ha of crops were destroyed in Trà Vinh Province. Fungal disease destroys Hậu Giang sugarcane Phụng Hiệp District’s agriculture department has officially noted the fungal disease called bệnh gỉ sắt (uromyces appendiculatus) that is destroying local sugarcane crops.     In the last week, sugarcane growers in Hậu Giang Province’s Tân Phước Hưng Commune have expressed concern about the rapid spread of a kind of leaf rust disease. A farmer from Lương Văn Tính in the Tân Phước Hưng Commune said that all the villagers were anxious about the productivity of the 2016 sugarcane crop, fearing that the disease could kill trees on a large scale. “Diseased sugarcane trees have red-spots on their leaves and appear singed,” he said. His family sprayed several kinds of insecticide on the sugarcane, but the symptoms have not improved. “My family’s tree acreage isn’t affected by the recent saline intrusion. I don’t know the cause of the disease.” Many experienced local farmers were also baffled as to the reason of the disease’s spread. A majority of sugarcane areas in Phụng Hiệp District are now affected by the disease, Tính said.             According to Nguyễn Thế Tự, deputy head of Phụng Hiệp District’s agriculture department, this disease has occurred rarely in recent years, but the latest outbreak occurred in the commune on areas of damaged land. “Our initial conclusion about the causes of the disease spreading is the prolonged hot weather and a lack of water sources. The longer the hot weather lasts, the more the disease will spread,” he said.    “It is important to water the sugarcane as much as possible.” “We have several products that are specialized to protect against this disease available at the market, so farmers should spray immediately on the disease-affected acreage,” he warned.      Farmers should be not be overanxious about the disease. If they apply the right measures, the affected sugarcane area will recover, he said.   Phan Hồng Phước, chairman of the commune People’s Committee, said the infestation had only occurred over the last week, but the disease had spread fast and destroyed a large area of crops. “The disease first broke out in the sugarcane fields of two families, then it rapidly spread to the whole commune,” he said, adding that “The sugarcane leaves are singed.” Communal authorities have directed that the disease’s spread should be monitored, and that the district’s agriculture department be kept continually updated. Farmers in Phụng Hiệp District of the Mekong Delta province of Hậu Giang have 7,800ha of sugarcane fields. The Tân Phước Hưng Commune authorities estimate that at present, 1,055ha of a total of 2,300ha of sugarcane has been affected by the disease. HCM City gets project on educational access for students with disabilities A project that will support university students with disaiblities in their studies was launched by the HCM City Disability Research and Capacity Development Centre on Thursday (March 31). Under the sponsorship of the Embassy of Ireland, the project will be carried out at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the University of Education. The disability centre expects to expand the one-year project to other universities in the city. The students will be provided study-aid devices such as audiobooks, and volunteers will help with their studies. The students will also be made aware of their rights to full educational access. University staff, who will be trained in disability rights and awareness, will provide assistance to the students. The students with disabilities will also receive support so they can apply for internships at companies or jobs after graduation. Lưu Thị Ánh Loan, the centre’s acting director, said that students with disabilities still faced difficulties at universities and colleges. For instance, building access is still poor, and the procedures for tuition and subject exemption are also complicated. The students also lack devices to aid their learning such as textbooks in Braille or audiobooks. This has caused many of them to drop out. There are 6.1 million people with disabilities aged five and above in the country, accounting for 7.8 per cent of the total population, according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census. Of these, less than 0.1 per cent study at universities or colleges. Green urban areas lacking: architect Việt Nam needs to have detailed criteria and policies that promote the development of green urban areas to improve living standards, architect Lê Thị Bích Thuận has said. Thuận wrote in a story for the Việt Nam Architecture Magazine that green urban planning had not been given adequate attention as an overall solution for protecting the environment and enhancing living standards in urban areas. Both investors and residents were not sufficiently aware of “green urban areas,” while profits rather than the long-term interests of the community remained a higher priority. Thuận said policies should be raised to encourage real estate developers to invest in developing green projects. The boom in developing property projects in recent decades in Việt Nam, despite creating a diverse supply for the market, intensified pressure on the ecosystem and living environment and increased the demand for urban open spaces amongst city dwellers. Vũ Cương Quyết, director of the Northern Greenland Service and Real Estate Joint Stock Company, said home seekers now had a growing need for green projects that incorporate amenities and energy savings as improved incomes would prompt them to search for projects with a good living environment. Quyết said developers should pay attention to developing a connected infrastructure as well as social amenities and open spaces. A representative from CBRE said projects with a complete infrastructure and a large percentage of green space, in fact, attracted more attention from home seekers. A property developer said green projects would have higher liquidity but noted that not every firm was capable of developing this type of project as support remains limited. However, the lack of detailed criteria for green urban development is confusing for both developers and buyers, experts point out. According to Nguyễn Tiến Đông, Head of the Credit Department under the State Bank of Việt Nam, several banks have taken green building standards into consideration when granting credit for property projects. However, the shortage of detailed criteria makes this evaluation difficult. The government has issued several guidelines to promote energy savings and green development, such as Decree 102/2003/NĐ/CP and Decision 1393/QĐ-TTg, but more detailed instructions are needed. According to Thuận, developing a compact city combined with urban open spaces and public transportation that limits emissions could be a solution for urban development in Việt Nam. Tracer – first-ever movie to screen in both film and concert Audiences in Vietnam will get an opportunity to explore a new film and concert experience with the upcoming screening of the Vietnamese action thriller Tracer (aka Truy Sat). In the film, Truong Ngoc Anh plays a policewoman whose family is murdered. She is determined to avenge their deaths and is helped by an undercover cop played by Thien Nguyen. The new screening format is the first ever for Vietnam and will transpire in Danang, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. It has attracted the participation of actors Truong Ngoc Anh, Vinh Thuy, Cuong Seven, Thien Nguyen, Lamour Vissay, and Hieu Nguyen. Famous DJs and singers – Thu Minh, Dong Nhi, Duong Trieu Vu, Trinh Thanh Binh, John Huy Tran, BoB, MoS – have also announced their participation at the new style film and concert event. According to the organizing board, at the event, a collection will be taken up to raise funds to provide grants and scholarships to under privileged youth to help them continue their university studies. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri